What the hell is going on?

[bengalboomer7]

So, Thurman's suspended, we give up a third rounder for a guy that's used to being in stripes, and a slew of other transgressions.

how many times can I type in Marvin we trust and ignore the problem?

i guess I'll be the first to say this, I don't like where this team is going right now. I know winning tends to make people forget, but we look just as likely to implode as a team as win the North.

if we're not careful, we'll have to bring in Paul Crewe as QB

Of course, I've always fancied the melodramatics

[Ox]

And to make matters worse, I am hearing rumors that Deltha has broken a bone in his hand of finger or something, and is in a cast. He should be read for the season, but will miss camp. I don't know how legit this is, but it comes from the same guy that knew about O'dell's upcoming suspension roughly 2 months ago...

[kybengalsfan]

So, Thurman's suspended, we give up a third rounder for a guy that's used to being in stripes, and a slew of other transgressions.

how many times can I type in Marvin we trust and ignore the problem?

i guess I'll be the first to say this, I don't like where this team is going right now. I know winning tends to make people forget, but we look just as likely to implode as a team as win the North.

if we're not careful, we'll have to bring in Paul Crewe as QB

Of course, I've always fancied the melodramatics

Well, the good news is for all the inmates in the prisons around the country: keep lifting the weights, practice running sprints, and the Bengals may give you a shot at the team. Hey, what a morale boost for the poor and neglected underclass

[Dadraftnick]

I think you are seeing evidence that this team NEEDS a GM !!!

Marvin may be just too close to it .

He sees all of that raw talent and drools and the next thing you know it we have a combination of groundhogday and the longest yard going on.

If you had a good GM he could be a voice of reason and save Marvin from himlelf.

One character issue is enough for any team,when you have starters getting suspended and replace him with either a guy with a history of sexual assult or another guy with a drug problem its time to take stock in the organization and ask your self WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??????

This team needs a GM and bigger scouting staff in the worst way.

With a GM you wouldn't see the drafting of LB after LB and WR after WR when you dont have the roster space for them.

You wouldn't see character concern after character concern.

You would hopefuly see a GM with a plan going into the draft every year--not which ever position coach with the most mojo with the organization or the position coach that talks up the most for his guy wins.

[HoosierCat]

Marvin may be just too close to it .

It's possible. Florio over at PFT did a follow-up (measured and pretty fair, IMHO, tho he did have to slip ""turd" in a couple times) to his story of the Bengals picking Brooks after polling some of league contacts. The majority seem to feel it isn't Marvin pulling the trigger, but at least one had a dissenting view that rings very true with me:

Still, there are some league insiders who are convinced that, in the end, Lewis has final say, and that Lewis believes he can turn turds into treasure.

"He's got a lot of confidence in his own ability to reform," said one league source. "He's always been that way. Marvin thinks he's smarter than everyone else. That's his hubris, his tragic flaw. In the end, it could be his downfall."

Yeah, I can see that. Marvin does strike me as that type. And it explains things without having to resort to conspiracies about Mikey in a closet pulling strings. But it also maens that in Marvin we trust...no longer. Now, it's time to pull one from the wayback machine: "trust, but verify."

[HairOnFire]

Marvin does strike me as that type. And it explains things without having to resort to conspiracies about Mikey in a closet pulling strings. But it also maens that in Marvin we trust...no longer. Now, it's time to pull one from the wayback machine: "trust, but verify."

Nahh, I still trust in Marvin. After all, I'm convinced that if Kimo doesn't get to Carson the Bengals would have nutted the Steelers and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. So don't expect me to second guess that type of coaching performance very often.

As for the ego thing, I think it's true of almost all coaches. They all believe that they're better than the last guy who coached a player, and to a man they all feel like they're the one who can get their message across when others have failed. And Marvin certain fits that profile as he doesn't lack confidence or ego.

[BengalByTheBay]

A couple of throughts on this current situation.

First, the debate over "character" versus talent seems to have taken on an unnecessarily extreme aspect to it. I admit being part of this, mainly brought in by the constancy of the "worst draft ever" comments that, in my opinion, are way overdone. Somewhere between "cut Rucker, Nicholson, Henry, ______" and "who cares as long as they are good players" extremes is the fact that we all want this team to get better. Along with that goes the fact that we all have higher expectations because the team is/has been better over the past three years. So, maybe I'm being overly defensive by suggesting that the reactions to all of these offseason developments are overblown and hysterical. By the same token, things like Rucker being charged for something that happened in 2005 rings different to me than Nicholson's or Henry's or now OT's situation. I don't think you can look at all these guys and say they're all criminals and that the baby should be thrown out with the bathwater. Granted, there's room for debate, but don't we all want the team to get better?

Second, I think we're seeing what is basically a coherent draft strategy. You may not like it, but it's clear that whoever is making the draft decisions believes that high risk-high potential reward is the way to go. The strategy has accellerated now that we've got more solid players overall such that it looks like we're looking at rounds 3 on as opportunities to pick up phenoms -- many of which will not pan out. Very little drafting by position seems to be going on. We're looking for homerun hitters, which is why there are so many WR's and LB's. I believe the staff thinks these are the positions where you take a flyer and assume that most of them will not work out. High impact positions as it were. Again, you don't have to agree with that, but it certainly seems to be happening.

Third, while everybody now seems to be piling on Lewis with both feet, consider that this team has gone 8-8 twice and 11-5 most recently. That's not all just because Carson Palmer is a good player. There have been some major changes going on here. I totally disagree that "we were due" to get better. That doesn't happen in the NFL. You don't just get better because it's your turn. Otherwise, the Cardinals would have been good long before now. You have to work at it and have a plan. So, just as it was never right to blindly have faith in everything Marvin Lewis does, it is wrong to believe the sky is falling now. The guy had a plan -- part of which involved taking some big risks to get better. I, for one, will take the good with the bad. If I am going to revel in the playoff run last season and the continuing legitimization of this team as a winning organization, I'm not going to disown the people that are making that happen just because some of the decisions aren't working out as I would hope. I said it before that Odell hurts. (Did anyone think that there was nothing to all these rumors, because you just had to know didn't you.....I mean didn't you?) With that exception though, everybody involved was a third or lower pick. And we've seen how well somebody like Henry can play when he gets on the field. So, at least the talent evaluation wasn't way off. Again, I think you gotta be honest -- you have to stand up and take the bad with the good. In my opinion, this is a very rough patch with several very good players who have to learn to get control of themselves and their lives if they're going to make it in their careers. Some of them won't make it, but the team will get better -- at least that's my hope.

[alleycat]

A couple of throughts on this current situation.

First, the debate over "character" versus talent seems to have taken on an unnecessarily extreme aspect to it. I admit being part of this, mainly brought in by the constancy of the "worst draft ever" comments that, in my opinion, are way overdone. Somewhere between "cut Rucker, Nicholson, Henry, ______" and "who cares as long as they are good players" extremes is the fact that we all want this team to get better. Along with that goes the fact that we all have higher expectations because the team is/has been better over the past three years. So, maybe I'm being overly defensive by suggesting that the reactions to all of these offseason developments are overblown and hysterical. By the same token, things like Rucker being charged for something that happened in 2005 rings different to me than Nicholson's or Henry's or now OT's situation. I don't think you can look at all these guys and say they're all criminals and that the baby should be thrown out with the bathwater. Granted, there's room for debate, but don't we all want the team to get better?

Second, I think we're seeing what is basically a coherent draft strategy. You may not like it, but it's clear that whoever is making the draft decisions believes that high risk-high potential reward is the way to go. The strategy has accellerated now that we've got more solid players overall such that it looks like we're looking at rounds 3 on as opportunities to pick up phenoms -- many of which will not pan out. Very little drafting by position seems to be going on. We're looking for homerun hitters, which is why there are so many WR's and LB's. I believe the staff thinks these are the positions where you take a flyer and assume that most of them will not work out. High impact positions as it were. Again, you don't have to agree with that, but it certainly seems to be happening.

Third, while everybody now seems to be piling on Lewis with both feet, consider that this team has gone 8-8 twice and 11-5 most recently. That's not all just because Carson Palmer is a good player. There have been some major changes going on here. I totally disagree that "we were due" to get better. That doesn't happen in the NFL. You don't just get better because it's your turn. Otherwise, the Cardinals would have been good long before now. You have to work at it and have a plan. So, just as it was never right to blindly have faith in everything Marvin Lewis does, it is wrong to believe the sky is falling now. The guy had a plan -- part of which involved taking some big risks to get better. I, for one, will take the good with the bad. If I am going to revel in the playoff run last season and the continuing legitimization of this team as a winning organization, I'm not going to disown the people that are making that happen just because some of the decisions aren't working out as I would hope. I said it before that Odell hurts. (Did anyone think that there was nothing to all these rumors, because you just had to know didn't you.....I mean didn't you?) With that exception though, everybody involved was a third or lower pick. And we've seen how well somebody like Henry can play when he gets on the field. So, at least the talent evaluation wasn't way off. Again, I think you gotta be honest -- you have to stand up and take the bad with the good. In my opinion, this is a very rough patch with several very good players who have to learn to get control of themselves and their lives if they're going to make it in their careers. Some of them won't make it, but the team will get better -- at least that's my hope.

Well said.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Brooks better work out.

[HairOnFire]

Second, I think we're seeing what is basically a coherent draft strategy. You may not like it, but it's clear that whoever is making the draft decisions believes that high risk-high potential reward is the way to go. The strategy has accellerated now that we've got more solid players overall such that it looks like we're looking at rounds 3 on as opportunities to pick up phenoms -- many of which will not pan out. Very little drafting by position seems to be going on. We're looking for homerun hitters....

Dead on.

The truth of the matter is the thing that makes Marvin Lewis great is his willingness to take risks that other head coaches wouldn't dream of. From taking the franchise tag off of Takeo Spikes, to drafting a QB who had an undeserved reputation as a slow learner to run one of the most complicated offenses in the NFL, to trading franchise back Corey Dillon, to letting rat-like Jon Kitna leave in free agency when his starting QB was still on crutches, to a willingness to repeatedly assume risky players with mid round draft choices due to their better upside.

The meek need not apply..

[ShulaSteakhouse]

A couple of throughts on this current situation.

First, the debate over "character" versus talent seems to have taken on an unnecessarily extreme aspect to it. I admit being part of this, mainly brought in by the constancy of the "worst draft ever" comments that, in my opinion, are way overdone. Somewhere between "cut Rucker, Nicholson, Henry, ______" and "who cares as long as they are good players" extremes is the fact that we all want this team to get better. Along with that goes the fact that we all have higher expectations because the team is/has been better over the past three years. So, maybe I'm being overly defensive by suggesting that the reactions to all of these offseason developments are overblown and hysterical. By the same token, things like Rucker being charged for something that happened in 2005 rings different to me than Nicholson's or Henry's or now OT's situation. I don't think you can look at all these guys and say they're all criminals and that the baby should be thrown out with the bathwater. Granted, there's room for debate, but don't we all want the team to get better?

Second, I think we're seeing what is basically a coherent draft strategy. You may not like it, but it's clear that whoever is making the draft decisions believes that high risk-high potential reward is the way to go. The strategy has accellerated now that we've got more solid players overall such that it looks like we're looking at rounds 3 on as opportunities to pick up phenoms -- many of which will not pan out. Very little drafting by position seems to be going on. We're looking for homerun hitters, which is why there are so many WR's and LB's. I believe the staff thinks these are the positions where you take a flyer and assume that most of them will not work out. High impact positions as it were. Again, you don't have to agree with that, but it certainly seems to be happening.

Third, while everybody now seems to be piling on Lewis with both feet, consider that this team has gone 8-8 twice and 11-5 most recently. That's not all just because Carson Palmer is a good player. There have been some major changes going on here. I totally disagree that "we were due" to get better. That doesn't happen in the NFL. You don't just get better because it's your turn. Otherwise, the Cardinals would have been good long before now. You have to work at it and have a plan. So, just as it was never right to blindly have faith in everything Marvin Lewis does, it is wrong to believe the sky is falling now. The guy had a plan -- part of which involved taking some big risks to get better. I, for one, will take the good with the bad. If I am going to revel in the playoff run last season and the continuing legitimization of this team as a winning organization, I'm not going to disown the people that are making that happen just because some of the decisions aren't working out as I would hope. I said it before that Odell hurts. (Did anyone think that there was nothing to all these rumors, because you just had to know didn't you.....I mean didn't you?) With that exception though, everybody involved was a third or lower pick. And we've seen how well somebody like Henry can play when he gets on the field. So, at least the talent evaluation wasn't way off. Again, I think you gotta be honest -- you have to stand up and take the bad with the good. In my opinion, this is a very rough patch with several very good players who have to learn to get control of themselves and their lives if they're going to make it in their careers. Some of them won't make it, but the team will get better -- at least that's my hope.

Well said.

Marvin's competent, and he has a lot of talent on offense here - his defenses have sucked hard.

I really don't care to worship him like others until he wins a playoff game with this group, at least.

Simply being competent is not enough for me to look past his out of control ego and inability to keep his drafted players on the field.

His drafts get less impressive every year.

He'll need a lot of luck this season because it's going to be tough.

[alleycat]

A couple of throughts on this current situation.

First, the debate over "character" versus talent seems to have taken on an unnecessarily extreme aspect to it. I admit being part of this, mainly brought in by the constancy of the "worst draft ever" comments that, in my opinion, are way overdone. Somewhere between "cut Rucker, Nicholson, Henry, ______" and "who cares as long as they are good players" extremes is the fact that we all want this team to get better. Along with that goes the fact that we all have higher expectations because the team is/has been better over the past three years. So, maybe I'm being overly defensive by suggesting that the reactions to all of these offseason developments are overblown and hysterical. By the same token, things like Rucker being charged for something that happened in 2005 rings different to me than Nicholson's or Henry's or now OT's situation. I don't think you can look at all these guys and say they're all criminals and that the baby should be thrown out with the bathwater. Granted, there's room for debate, but don't we all want the team to get better?

Second, I think we're seeing what is basically a coherent draft strategy. You may not like it, but it's clear that whoever is making the draft decisions believes that high risk-high potential reward is the way to go. The strategy has accellerated now that we've got more solid players overall such that it looks like we're looking at rounds 3 on as opportunities to pick up phenoms -- many of which will not pan out. Very little drafting by position seems to be going on. We're looking for homerun hitters, which is why there are so many WR's and LB's. I believe the staff thinks these are the positions where you take a flyer and assume that most of them will not work out. High impact positions as it were. Again, you don't have to agree with that, but it certainly seems to be happening.

Third, while everybody now seems to be piling on Lewis with both feet, consider that this team has gone 8-8 twice and 11-5 most recently. That's not all just because Carson Palmer is a good player. There have been some major changes going on here. I totally disagree that "we were due" to get better. That doesn't happen in the NFL. You don't just get better because it's your turn. Otherwise, the Cardinals would have been good long before now. You have to work at it and have a plan. So, just as it was never right to blindly have faith in everything Marvin Lewis does, it is wrong to believe the sky is falling now. The guy had a plan -- part of which involved taking some big risks to get better. I, for one, will take the good with the bad. If I am going to revel in the playoff run last season and the continuing legitimization of this team as a winning organization, I'm not going to disown the people that are making that happen just because some of the decisions aren't working out as I would hope. I said it before that Odell hurts. (Did anyone think that there was nothing to all these rumors, because you just had to know didn't you.....I mean didn't you?) With that exception though, everybody involved was a third or lower pick. And we've seen how well somebody like Henry can play when he gets on the field. So, at least the talent evaluation wasn't way off. Again, I think you gotta be honest -- you have to stand up and take the bad with the good. In my opinion, this is a very rough patch with several very good players who have to learn to get control of themselves and their lives if they're going to make it in their careers. Some of them won't make it, but the team will get better -- at least that's my hope.

Well said.

Marvin's competent, and he has a lot of talent on offense here - his defenses have sucked hard.

I really don't care to worship him like others until he wins a playoff game with this group, at least.

Simply being competent is not enough for me to look past his out of control ego and inability to keep his drafted players on the field.

His drafts get less impressive every year.

He'll need a lot of luck this season because it's going to be tough.

This season was going to be tough this year anyway, because of our schedule. There's even more pressure on this team now (I hope Marvin can turn this into they type of "us against the world" thing that Bellicheck is so good at).

As for the ego thing, sorry, but in my experiences, in high pressure jobs at the top of any profession, that's exactly what you want. Visionaries need to have huge ego's just to block out the din from the herd of howlers who can't see their genius. The history of human innovation is littered with the corpses of the ridiculers of innovators (for a contemporary example, look to those strange groups of people who - WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT - actually reject evolution. Then again, there is actually still a Flat Earth Society that believes this whole spherical, sun-centered vision of things is a hoax).

[Dadraftnick]

I for one remember how we got into the 15year playoff drought

It was horriable drafts

Drafts on players that were reaches and players that were character concerns ect..

Yes we didn't have Marvin but,if you remember when he came in he had to clean house of character problems to turn things around

And if you know it or not Dick Lebeau is a respected coach in the league and so WAS Coslet until they tried to coach a bunch of undicliplined jacka$$'

Of coarse Shula was a joke but,the point is Coslet and LeBeau's careers were ruined by a bunch of iffy draft choiced and character problems.

I cant remember the guys (I think we got him from Tampa)name but, I remember a guy bitch slapping Shula on the sideline...thus team respect for the coach goes to hell and he might as well quit then.

I just dont to start back down that road.

[HairOnFire]

I cant remember the guys (I think we got him from Tampa)name but, I remember a guy bitch slapping Shula on the sideline...thus team respect for the coach goes to hell and he might as well quit then.

Hmmmm, I remember ex-Giant Gary Reasons pulling Shula's cap down over his eyes, but I don't recall a really proper beat down.

Yeah, good times.

[BengalChamps]

Well, I have always believed in Marvin we trust, but now i'm changing my tune. This is a REALLY bad move. Why would you give up a R3 pick for this loser!!?? Not only is he another druggie, he also has had knee surgery and done nothing lately in college ball. He also is overweight!!

Why??

So what if the 49nerds were about to take him!! Let them have him.

What message does this send to the clean, hardworking vets on the team? What does this say to the young fans of the team? What does this say to the community and the season ticket holders?

Why are we going to let guys like Steinbach and Willie walk away while we take guys like Frucker, Nicholson, Cheech, and Brooks?? What kind of locker room we going to have when this happens?

Cheech better get cut in camp. I dont want to root for a loser like him.

I can understand Marvin wanting to take on a pet project, but YOU CANT TAKE ON 4 OF THEM!! Now a 5th one with Odell's suspension.

You cant draft people just because an assistant coach used to know him.

I know some/many of you will disagree with this next statement but you cant trust people who have drug problems!

I am a very frustrated fan right now.

[Wraith]

Absolutely Correct Alleycat, give me high ego hard to manage brilliance over easy to manage but not exceptional anyday.

[ArmyBengal]

I think with all of the problems that are going on and people being up in the air, it lends a huge part to no continuity and will be very disruptive. Sure their are players that can come in and do their jobs (Landon) and I have faith in their ability, but to gel and work as a unit, as a team is another question. The fast start Marvin (and everyone) looks for, just got MUCH more difficult to achieve with the lastest on Odell. Yeah, I still love Marvin, but no one is above scrutiny...

WHODEY !!!

[HoosierCat]

First, the debate over "character" versus talent seems to have taken on an unnecessarily extreme aspect to it.

First, good post. Second, I don't think the character debate has gotten out of hand; if anything, events have conspired to make it look under-discussed, IMHO. But to address the crux of your post...

We're looking for homerun hitters, which is why there are so many WR's and LB's. I believe the staff thinks these are the positions where you take a flyer and assume that most of them will not work out.

...the rub lies in the word "most." If it were just Odell or just Henry or just Rucker or just Nicholson, I think you could justify the hi risk/hi reward strategy. But it isn't. It's multiple detonations at the same time, and as has been pointed out that's bound to wreak havoc with continuity. In Marvin's defense, he couldn't have predicted that every risk was going to blow up in his face, but just the same he's gotten bitten badly so far.

The second, more insidious, problem is how this all shakes out in the locker room. As the halftime meltdown in the playoff game demonstrated, this team remains a bit on the mentally fragile side. And all of us ought to be familiar with the infamous "cancer corner" of the dark years, said to include such notables as Dillon, Tony McGee and Jeff Blake. Even if most of the players now in trouble manage to wriggle through to a slap on the wrist, do we want another locker room divided? Between the guys who want to win and the guys who want to party?

I think you are right about the strategy they decided upon. But it isn't ultimately a question of whether I like it or not, it's a question of whether it works or not. And right now that question remains an open one.

[jditty47]

the ravens seem to get along fine with a blended mix of thugs and blue collar workers.

[Stripes]

Bengal by the Bay, I agree with your post entirely, and yours as well Joisey. I certainly imagine Marvin as one who pinpoints the most talented player on the board at a given time in any draft, and takes him without any regard for question marks surrounding him about anything. Hit or miss, win or lose.

Yeah, the events of this offseason have given plenty of reason to question Marvin's strategies in choosing and developing the personell on this roster. Has he done anything to deserve being crapped on by the entire media and NFL fanbase? Of course not.

He is possibly the biggest risk taker in the NFL, and so far it has paid off wonderfully. A 15 year playoff drought just ended in Cincinnati. We're legitimate Superbowl contenders with Marvin's players on the field. Can we ask for more as Bengals fans? Yeah, sure, but not for perfection, especially in Marvin's situation.

For every player Marvin gets right, he is praised by the masses and lauded for his genius. For every player he has gotten wrong (and of the four in question right now, he hasn't gotten a single one of them wrong yet) he has received equal and opposite treatment.

Yeah, that's fair, but can't we find a happy medium? Let the man do his job, because he knows how to do it better than anyone in the media or on Bengalszone.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

He is possibly the biggest risk taker in the NFL, and so far it has paid off wonderfully. A 15 year playoff drought just ended in Cincinnati. We're legitimate Superbowl contenders with Marvin's players on the field. Can we ask for more as Bengals fans? Yeah, sure, but not for perfection, especially in Marvin's situation.

For every player Marvin gets right, he is praised by the masses and lauded for his genius. For every player he has gotten wrong (and of the four in question right now, he hasn't gotten a single one of them wrong yet) he has received equal and opposite treatment.

You assume those events are correlated, and I don't. I think they make the playoffs without Chris Henry. Odell I'm not calling a turd until I learn more about this thing. And I definitely think Rucker is far more trouble than he's worth.

I think taking a couple of these guys is fine, but at some point there's just too many. I mean, Chad's already high-maintenance enough and he's not a loser - do we really need to add 10 guys that you can't count on being eligible every year?

And you talk about Marvin 'getting a player right' - as far as the character issue guys, he hasn't. Henry's been arrested 3 times, Odell's been suspended, Rucker's arrested, Nicholson's arrested. Give Brooks time, looks like slim odds he'll stay clean. All the other teams knew the talent involved with these guys and simply decided - apparantly wisely - they weren't worth it. Sure, Odell looked like a steal. But now he's out 4 games, and 1 more positive - of which he has 3 in a year, apparently - puts him out a year. Fortunately, he's also the one who 1) doesn't beat women, and 2) has the sense not to get busted by the cops, so I'm hopeful he's learned his lesson and stays away from the peyote next offseason.

If Marvin's such a personnel genius, he should be able to find the gems that other teams miss without having to resort to drafting felons.

[membengal]

Nice read fellas.

For what it's worth, perhaps this is the last of the disquieting off-field news for awhile. Ever since the pass to Henry was hanging in the air and excitement rising to a crescendo when he caught it and went flying up the sideline we have had nothing but a non-stop roll of horrible news, Palmer on the turf (like a nightmare you couldn't wake up from), to the CJ lockerroom thing to Henry's excellent penal code breaking spree to draft choices in prison stripes to Odell. We're past due for all of that to quiet down, the start of camp will help.

And, I don't want to lost sight of this, the biggest news this off-season, the news that outweighs all the bad, is the fast recovery Palmer is having. I wouldn't trade the other bad news for good if it meant Palmer wasn't going to be ready in September.

The Bengals' draft strategy is indeed clear. Take the big chances a few rounds in. I still like that strategy. It would just be nice if even one of the big chances wouldn't screw the team, coaching staff and city over as a thanks for getting a second chance. Perhaps Brooks will be the one to break the cycle.

At some point, with the cascade of bad news, you just have to laugh. So I shall.

Camp opens in 15 days. Thank God.

[richmond_mat]

All this chicken little mentality is quite amusing. If dick leblow's team could have had this much drama I would have been more entertained.

Reminder-

you can take the kid out of the hood but you often can't get the hood out of the kid.

Hopefully, odell will learn how to mask his urine or better yet quit using. Henry may well be sent packing. Rucker may be able to move on quicker than you think. The new fella hasn't screwed up on the bengals' clock

No one's been charged with murder or even manslaughter.

Lighten up chicken little. The team will be fine.

[HairOnFire]

All this chicken little mentality is quite amusing. If dick leblow's team could have had this much drama I would have been more entertained.

That's a point I've tried to make several times. Teams that don't take risks ultimately don't matter.

And here's another point that hasn't been pounded home often enough. When we talk about swingin' for the fences and taking risks, which we seem to be doing almost constantly, we're talking about a front office that is doing whatever it can to win. There isn't a box made that they won't think outside of, and there isn't a talent acquisition strategy offered that is considered so risky that is rejected out of hand. They'll scan waiver wires for quick fixes, Canadian rosters for pass rushers, and basketball courts for potential tight ends. If the price is cheap enough they'll draft a great prospect even if he comes with as much baggage as upside. Simply put, they'll do everything they can to produce a championship....including things that make you scratch your head in wide-eyed wonder.

Yeah, I know. Most of you are choking a little after reading the above, but you know it's true.

Pre-Marvin Bengal teams wouldn't have assumed half of the risks that Lewis has over the last few years, and as a result of that timidity they punched out 3-13 or 6-10 campaigns like clockwork. In fact, the only thing we as fans of dem' Bengals had to root for each season was the occasional stellar performance from an individual whose efforts were wasted by a doomed team that lacked the overall talent to contribute. Well those days are gone.

This team isn't going to waste the golden years of it's golden boys. Risks will be taken over and over agin to ensure that Carson Palmer has all of the weapons he needs. Thus, the dice is rolled on Kelley Washington, Chris Henry, or whoever comes next. And the same thing is true on the defensive side of the ball. The pro bowl quality talent of Carson, Chad, Rudi, and a host of others will not be allowed to go to waste due to the inept play of a miserable defense. Instead, you'll be witness to a massive influx of new talent added in ways that past Bengal teams never would have considered....including taking a calculated risk on potential greatness in the supplemental draft.

So here we are, asking ourselves today if all of the risks taken will pay off.

And I'm telling you that it already has.

Division championship. Playoff game. Super Bowl contender.

[ArmyBengal]

Hair, that brought a tear to my eye and for good reason !!! For everyone in question of what is going on with the team and having nothing but negatives to spout off with are more than welcome to go back an embrace the teams of the past 10 years prior to the arrival of Marvin Lewis. How about we just enjoy the Division Championship and realize things are going to happen. It will clear up one way or another and if things go well, this defense will be crazy good !!!

If I'm thinking anything positive of this defense, you know it can't be all bad !!!

WHODEY !!!